Disney's French theme park gets a face-lift

PARIS – More than 8,000 people signed a petition last year on Change.org urging Walt Disney Co. Chairman Robert Iger to "Save Disneyland Paris." The petition, in six languages, logged complaints about poor maintenance, lousy food and mediocre attractions at the money-losing resort, which opened in 1992.

Iger was listening.

A rescue package unveiled last week will give Disneyland Paris and its sister park Walt Disney Studios at least $1.3 billion over 10 years to add attractions and spruce up the grounds. The company is updating "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril" and "Big Thunder Mountain" rides.

"They're going to need to make a significant capital investment," said Robert Niles, editor of the website Theme Park Insider.

Euro Disney said it's also refurbishing hotels and refreshing icons such as the Sleeping Beauty Castle. In July, Walt Disney Studios opened a Ratatouille ride and restaurant that have attracted more than 1 million guests, Disney said.

Mark Stead, Euro Disney's chief financial officer, told the Guardian newspaper he hoped to bring technology from the U.S. to revamp and add new ride experiences.

More is needed, according to Dennis Spiegel, a theme park consultant in Cincinnati.

The park is "too sterile and industrial-looking. It doesn't feel like a Disney park," he said. "They're not getting the … same level of people willing to spend."

Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim is the model to follow. Disney invested $1.1 billion in that park in recent years, including a Cars Land attraction that has helped lift attendance by 34 percent since 2011.

"Our industry lives on repeat visitation," Spiegel said. "People want new attractions. Fantasyland, Cars Land, Star Wars, Avatar Land. It's more than dropping in a single ride."

Craig Hanna, chief creative officer for Thinkwell Group, a company that designs theme park attractions, agreed the Disney Studios needs work.

"There are a lot of possibilities," Hanna said. "There's plenty of land in Paris."

"The problem now is that the hotels are aging and some rides aren't working as well," said Didier Arino, chief executive of Protourisme, a tourism researcher in France. "That's making the parks less attractive to consumers and, with the level of investment the company has to sustain, it's obviously a problem."

This isn't Euro Disney's first financial restructuring. In 1994, two years after its opening, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal acquired a 10 percent stake in a refinancing. Two years ago, Euro Disney consolidated debt into a loan from the Disney company.

Analysts say Disney can't pull the plug on its biggest investment in Europe and a huge promoter of its brand.